Solavei Launches Phone Network That Pays Back for Social Sharing

While part of the population is willing to camp out on the street in order to get their hands on the newest iPhone, other folks are struggling to pay their monthly mobile bill. For many people, the mobile phone has replaced their home phone so it’s their only connection to work, school and family.

Enter Solavei, the mobile network that not only offers a great deal, they offer cash back, too. We’re not talking $10 rebates here, we’re talking about recurring monthly income of up to (wait for it. . . . ) $20,000 a month!?

Solavei’s income option is based on the pyramid style affiliate program that used to generate millions of dollars back when the web was wild. Quite simply, I get a bonus for every person who signs up for phone service under me, and I get a smaller bonus for everyone who signs up under my friends. What makes this intriguing is the emphasis on social sharing.

Solavei’s whole marketing plan is based around social word of mouth. They provide easy sharing tools for Facebook and Twitter and they have a mobile app so you can sign your co-worker up over lunch. They also offer the more traditional tools such as business cards and logo merchandise, it’s Avon, but for phone service.

What’s fascinating is the way they’ve made this look so simple. For every three friends (a Trio) that sign up, you get $20. Sign up 3 sets of 3 and your monthly phone service is paid for. That’s worth it right there and for not a lot of effort if you’re a college student with a bunch of broke Facebook friends.

In order to hit that $20,000 mark, you’d have to have 2000 Trios in your network, 30 of which are in your personal circle. That’s a lot of phone plans to sell, but I guess it’s possible if you’re a super salesman.

I get that none of the individual concepts here are new, but I’ve never seen mobile handled this way and I think it’s brilliant. The company says they signed up 25,000 new users during their beta test. You have to figure that the majority of people who sign up won’t even make their first Trio, so Solavei gets their money free and clear. A few might hit the top tiers in a year, the rest will land in the $50 to $100 a month income range. For that, Solavei gets thousands of social media shares and they don’t have to pay to advertise.

Can incentivized word of mouth take a bite out of ATT and Verizon’s billion dollar campaigns? We’ll wait and see.